


How The Paladins Found Out

by EmeraldLight



Series: Kaxel Chronicles [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22648006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldLight/pseuds/EmeraldLight
Summary: As we continue into the Kaxel Universe, we come to the point where the Paladins find out about Keith and Axel. There are two different scenes in this submission showing different ways Axel's existence was discovered.Note: Scene three has been moved to it's own fic titled "Voltron: Team Of... Eight?"
Relationships: Keith/Original Male Character
Series: Kaxel Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627846
Kudos: 8





	1. Scenario One

**Author's Note:**

> Remember, none of these chapters are linked. Each chapter is a different scenario where the Paladins learn about Axel and Keith. My mind came up with so many options and I couldn't avoid writing them all out.

Keith blew out a long breath as he leaned forward and rested his head against the cool tiles that made up the wall of the shower. He wasn’t sure how long he had been standing under the hot water, but he didn’t think he was ready to come out any time soon. It had been a long day of training, followed by Keith spending another hour battling against one of the robot warriors. He was trying to keep his mind busy, hoping he would just… collapse into his bed and think of nothing until he woke up and did it all over again. This was his ritual, day after day, all in an attempt to avoid thinking about Earth.

“Oh, shit, Keith, sorry man, I didn’t know you were still in here.” Lance had entered the shower area without Keith noticing, the brunette turning his eyes away politely, as one did in a communal shower.

“I figured someone left the shower running, again,” he tried to joke, turning his own shower on and stepping under the spray. “I won’t be long, I just need to shower off the days filth before bed, you know?” Keith managed a weak smile, not that Lance could notice, the two turned away from one another.

“I didn’t think I had been in here that long,” Keith admitted. He had long since washed the sweat, and a bit of blood, from his body, but as the hot water soothed his sore muscles, his mind had wandered.

“You know… I’ve been meaning to ask,” Lance said, glancing over at the other teen.

“About?”

“That necklace,” Lance pointed to the silver chain that hung around Keith’s neck, a black ring resting on it. “I mean, you hide it under that black shirt of yours, but, uh, sometimes we all end up in the showers together, yanno?” The brunette felt awkward talking about such a thing, not because he felt the necklace was personal or anything, but because he had just admitted he was looking at Keith in the showers.

“Don’t worry about it,” Keith waved a hand, turning off the shower. “It’s not important.”

“Come on, man, it has to be important if you’re wearing it. It’s your dad’s, isn’t it?” Lance pushed, soaping his body.

“Just let it go, Lance.”

“No way, not going to happen. You know me, Keith, I’m going to get an answer, one way or another.”

Keith rolled his eyes, not noticing that one of his hands had crept up to touch the ring, feeling the metal that was warmed from his skin and the shower water.

“Lance…” he started, then heaved a large sigh. Lance was right, he wasn’t going to stop asking until Keith gave him an answer, and he knew Lance would know if he was lying. Why hadn’t he just agreed when Lance suggested it was his father’s ring.

“Come on, dude,” Lance grinned, moving to shampoo (and condition, of course) his hair, glancing at Keith out of the side of his eye.

“If I’m going to explain this, I might as well tell everyone, all at once,” Keith admitted defeat. “I’m only going to say it once, and I’m not going to repeat myself.” Before Lance could say anything else, Keith turned and walked out of the shower.

*****

Usually it was Allura who called for team meetings, and usually in the command center of the Castle, but today Keith had assembled everyone in the lounge. He forced himself to breathe normally, ignoring how his heart had begun to race at the thought of talking about his private life. Shiro was giving him a concerned look and Keith waved a hand as though waving him off, silently telling his ‘brother’ not to worry.

“So… Lance asked me a question and while I don’t really want to answer it, he’s not going to let it go.”

Everyone glanced at Lance, making the boy hold up his hands in defence.

“What? I didn’t tell him to tell all of us! I just wanted to know!”

“You’re nothing but a gossip,” Pidge shot at him. “Keith knows damn well you’ll just blab to everyone anyways.”

“Thank you, Pidge,” Keith nodded towards the Green Paladin.

Taking another deep, calming breath, Keith reached under the neck of his shirt and pulled out the necklace, black ring catching the light.

“Lance asked about this--”

“I still think it’s your dad’s,” Lance interrupted, making Shiro shush him. Keith gave the older man a grateful look, assuming Shiro already knew what he was going to say.

“The ring is mine,” Keith told them, curling his fingers around the ring and holding it close. His eyes once more turned back to Shiro, a smile gracing his face.

“I married him, Shiro. I told you I would.”

A stunned silence fell over the group, everyone staring at Keith with wide eyes. All except Shiro, the man with the strange hair grinning hugely.

“Wait. Wait wait wait. HIM? You married a GUY? You’re GAY?” Lance was sputtering, surprise making his eyes wide while the others had relaxed from the initial surprise.

“Smooth, Lance,” Pidge muttered.

“I’m… well, honestly, Axel is the only person I’ve ever been attracted to,” Keith shrugged a little, tucking the ring back under the safety of his shirt.

“Axel? The dude in the Archive with the long ass hair?” Pidge asked, pondering this before nodding. “Yeah, I can see that, he’s a nice guy.”

“Anyways,” Keith continued. “This is all I’m going to say about it. I married Axel and… and now I’m here. I left him alone after promising to never do such a thing. Just like the rest of you, my family, my husband, has no idea where I am. He probably thinks I’m dead.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, Keith looked around at all his friends before ending the conversation and walking out of the lounge.

*****

Shiro found his adoptive brother in his bedroom, the dark haired boy sitting on his bed with his knees hugged against his chest. Keith knew Shiro would seek him out, it had only been a matter of time. After all, Shiro knew all about Axel. He sat himself on the other end of Keith’s bed and simply waited for the younger male to be ready to talk.

“He doesn’t know where I am,” Keith spoke softly, breaking the silence nearly thirty long minutes after Shiro had arrived in his room. “I never got to say goodbye… I left him sleeping in our bed and went out to rescue you, and then we left before he was awake… He needs me and I left him…” Shiro’s heart ached as he heard the sorrow in Keith’s voice, opening his arms and beckoning his brother over.

“Come,” he told him, curling his fingers.

“Shiro…”

“It’s okay to be sad, Keith. You can’t tell me that Lance, or Pidge, or Hunk, haven’t felt this way. Haven’t cried. Haven’t wondered what pain they’ve put their family through,” Shiro said. “Hell, I went through it, even stuck on that stupid Galra ship.”

“I need to be strong, Shiro,” Keith tried to protest but Shiro wouldn’t hear of it, leaning forward and curling his fingers around Keith’s wrist, yanking him forward. The younger boy struggled for a few moments before slumping against Shiro’s strong chest. It only took a few more moments before he broke into sobs, curling himself into Shiro’s arms and finally letting his emotions take over him.


	2. Scenario Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, none of these chapters are linked. Each chapter is a different scenario where the Paladins learn about Axel and Keith. My mind came up with so many options and I couldn't avoid writing them all out.

Shiro. They had found Shiro. Hell, they hadn’t just found him, they had liberated him from the Garrison quarantine squad and fled to Keith’s cabin out in the desert.

Now the five of them stood in Keith’s living room, taking in the seriousness of the situation. Keith explains about being inexplicably drawn to some sort of energy in the desert, close to his home, but before he could reach out and pull down the sheet covering the main wall, a sound draws everyone’s attention. Five heads turn to view the bedroom door that had creaked open, a slender, feminine looking blonde standing in the doorway.

Axel was wearing nothing more than one of Keith’s t-shirts, the oversize shirt hanging off one of his shoulders and the hem reaching just past his hips, barely covering what needed to be covered. The blonde rubbed bi-chromial eyes with the back of his hand before blinking wearily at whoever was causing a commotion in his living room.

“Shiro…?” Failing to notice anyone else, Axel woke up rather quickly as he came to realize his adoptive big brother was standing mere feet away. “Shiro!” Darting across the room, Axel launched himself against Shiro’s chest, nearly causing the larger male to fall over as he wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck.

“Whoa, Axel!” Shiro chuckled, accepting the hug and holding the tiny male around the waist. Everyone else in the room was greeted to the sight of Axel’s barely-there underpants - a pair of tiny, spandex boyshorts.

“Axel,” Keith cleared his throat, drawing the blonde’s attention and nodding towards the three other people in the cabin. Realizing they weren’t alone, and that he was scantily clad, Axel let out a squeak and backed away from Shiro, pulling down the front of his shirt.

“O-oh! Hi!” He was blushing quite impressively, hair tussled from sleep as he bit his bottom lip and absently toed the ground. Pidge, Hunk, and Lance all stared at the blonde, looking between him and Keith, and taking note of the shirt Axel was wearing. It clearly wasn’t his.

“Something you, uh, want to tell us, Keith?” Lance lifted an eyebrow, openly looking Axel up and down. “Have you been hiding this beautiful girl here all the time?” Shiro stifled a snort, passing it off as a cough as he looked away, as though he were looking out the window. Keith rolled his eyes, coming to stand beside Axel.

“No way around it, I suppose,” he said with a glance at the other boy. “This is Axel. My husband.”

Three mouths dropped open, all three realizing that the blonde in question wasn’t simply a flat chested girl, but in fact was a boy. Axel was still blushing, squirming under the gaze of the others, suddenly very aware of his sleeping attire.

“You’re back, Shiro,” he smiled, though it wavered as he remembered what had gone on since his older brother had gone missing. “They… they said you were dead…” Shiro smiled sadly in return.

“I know, but I’m back now,” he assured the blonde.

“I… should get dressed,” Axel said as he backed towards the open bedroom door. “I have work in a couple hours, anyways.”

As Axel vanished from sight, Keith ignored the questioning looks from the cadets and moved to expose the covered wall. The topic of Voltron, and the Lion carvings, circulated in the room, the group throwing out ideas to track the source of the strange energy. The dark haired teen knew that the others were itching to ask him questions about Axel, though Keith shared a small, knowing smile with Shiro.

Thirty minutes later Axel emerged from the bedroom, braiding his hair as he walked into the living room in his Garrison Archivist uniform. Shiro smiled at the sight, having left when Axel was only interning and wearing the standard uniform. It was nice to see that his younger brother was doing well for himself.

“Off on another adventure, love?” Axel smiled, stepping against Keith’s chest and curling his arms around his husband’s neck. Keith smiled in return, something very few people were privy to seeing, smoothing his hands over Axel’s slender hips.

“You know I can’t ignore the pull,” he responded. Axel twisted his fingers in the unruly strands of hair at the base of Keith’s neck, drawing him down into a kiss. While Keith kept growing, Axel had remained rather petite, despite being two years older.

“Be safe,” Axel told him as the tender kiss broke. “And let me know if you aren’t going to be home for dinner, or if all of ya’ll are coming for dinner. I’d prefer to know how much to make.” Keith being gone all night, or sometimes for a day or two, was nothing new to him, and all he asked was to be kept in the loop. Keith lifted a hand to cup Axel’s cheek, kissing him once again before stroking his thumb over Axel’s bottom lip.

“I’ll be home before the sun sets, I promise.”

Axel bid the rest of the group farewell, hugged Shiro tightly, shouldered his backpack, and headed off to the Garrison. Neither he nor Keith knew that this would be the last time they would see each other for a long, long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, none of these chapters are linked. Each chapter is a different scenario where the Paladins learn about Axel and Keith. My mind came up with so many options and I couldn't avoid writing them all out.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember, none of these chapters are linked. Each chapter is a different scenario where the Paladins learn about Axel and Keith. My mind came up with so many options and I couldn't avoid writing them all out.


End file.
